Profitable control of radiation doses article published in the newspaper Finanstidningen.
11/16/2001 6:00 AM EST
Profitable control of radiation doses article published in the newspaper
Finanstidningen.
November 16, 2001
Last summer, software company RaySearch started selling its radiation
therapy dose management software. It was not long before success was a
fact - a pretax profit of SEK 14 million is expected already this year,
with a full 60 percent profit margin.
"The software prototype was developed as part of my PhD thesis at
Karolinska Institutet, which kept development costs relatively low.
Wages, premises, and computers are the high-cost items," says CEO Johan
Löf. Unlike their US counterparts, Swedish university researchers own
the right to commercialize their discoveries.
Venture Capital
Johan Löf noted this and founded RaySearch, and venture capital company
Affärsstrategerna joined him as a partner. One of the problems with
shooting gamma rays at tumors is that you also injure the healthy tissue
surrounding the tumor. The company's software calculates the optimal
dosage and dose distribution in radiation therapy using a technique
called IMRT, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy.
US health care providers recognize the benefits of the technology and
government authorities have therefore raised reimbursement to medical
facilities that use IMRT, which the company believes will fuel demand.
"Everyone Wants One"
"The technology doesn't need to be marketed - every medical facility
wants one. Our primary target group includes about 2000 machines
worldwide, but we expect that group to grow by almost 10 percent
annually," says Johan Löf.
Philips-owned ADAC has sole rights to use the RaySearch module in its
software until August 2004, and the company receives a fixed royalty for
each license.
More Products
The company's systems developers are preparing for the time when the
licensing agreement expires after 2004.
"A system like this needs constant improvement and we are also working
on developing new products," says Johan Löf.
"We may also take over support for ADAC's software in Europe, in order
to develop a closer relationship with the customers," he said.